Today is Day 1 of Week 2

[Mel K]

Hi guys! I am starting week 2 today and feeling pretty good. I am down by 6 lbs., however I'm trying not to get too excited as I always do pretty well the first week of dieting. I guess I lose water weight easily!

I am finding that I actually enjoy this way of eating, but it is costing me a bit more than what I am used to. I am a former vegetarian and even after I started eating meat again, I didn't eat it daily. I don't like eggs at all, so I am looking for other (less expensive!) options.

On Saturday, I had a bit of a mess up. I went out to eat with my family and ate a salad with a sweet dressing. I also had a few bites of rice (this was a Japanese restaurant). I thought I would be okay, but I had terrible cravings later in the day and ended up eating two cookies and a piece of bread! I hate the way I felt, so hopefully I will remember that and not do it again.

I hope everyone else is doing well. I think I will stick to induction for a month or so, and then move to the OWL phase.

Just thought I'd share an update.

[LiterateGriffin]

OK, you don't need to eat a ton of protein... but you DO need a ton of fat.

You can get that from vegetarian sources -- coconut oil is an excellent source of fat, and actually where a lot of my calories come from, in a given day.

Giving in to a craving is a dangerous slope, especially at this stage of the game. If some sweet dressing and a couple bites of rice made you want cookies and bread, what do you think the cookies and bread are going to do to you?

(You're not to BLAME for this -- you're just the victim of a nasty bio-chemical feedback-loop.)

A better plan is to eat something ON-PLAN to fill the craving... or at least close to plan.

If you're craving sweets, try a pickle. I know -- that's not sweet. Try it, though -- it works. (Your body associates "sweet" with acidic things, because most fruit is high in acid -- aka Vitamin C. So the sourness of the pickle will help kill the sweet-craving.)

You want bread? They're not Induction, but try a handful of high-fat nuts (macadamias, brazils, pecans, almonds, walnuts... just avoid cashews, as they're INSANELY carb-rich). Eating a non-induction food is a HECK of a lot better than eating a high-carb food!

And when you do slip up like that... Well, get yourself back on plan as soon as you can. Post-"accident", it's best to cut carbs even further (and increase fat) for a day or two. Some intense exercise will also help mitigate the damage. (Intense workouts use your muscle's glycogen stores, which just got replenished by the carbs you ate.)

Initially, right now, this plan is probably costing you a bit more than you're accustomed to. Cheap grains are no longer your staple foods. Much of what you will buy costs more up-front. As you progress, however, you'll find yourself satisfied on less (sometimes MUCH less) food than you're accustomed to eating. Many days, I'll consume nothing except bulletproof coffee and a few handfuls of nuts before dinner.

(Bulletproof coffee: High-quality coffee beans, whipped with oils. Originally grassfed butter, but commonly some combination of grassfed butter, coconut oil, heavy whipping cream, and the occasional egg. Use an immersion-blender to make it "frothy" instead of being an oil-slick on top.)

Here's hoping your second week goes well!

[Mel K]

Thanks so much for the tips! And I agree that I should have tried some low carb options...but I didn't. However, I did get back to my new WOE the next day, so hopefully that counts for something. I definitely learned that just a little bit of sugar (that was in my dressing) and a little bit of starch (the few bites of rice that I ate) WILL affect me, so I will just try to steer clear in the future.

Thanks for all of your tips!!! I will be keeping these handy as I try to figure all of this out.

[Mom2Mayhem]

Today is also my day 1 of week 2, and I am down exactly 7 lbs.
I am very happy with those results.

Congrats on your success!!!

[Mom2Mayhem]

Originally Posted by LiterateGriffin

OK, you don't need to eat a ton of protein... but you DO need a ton of fat.

You can get that from vegetarian sources -- coconut oil is an excellent source of fat, and actually where a lot of my calories come from, in a given day.

This is excellent advice. I use coconut oil in my morning coffee or tea. Fat is great for suppressing any appetite. And don't forget that BUTTER!

[emel]

Eating within your low carb budget.. Several threads included

[Big Stevie]

The key to being successful on this program long term is to really pay attention to the things that set you off. Everyone is different. Now you know one more thing to avoid. You get a pass the first time, but not the second, LOL!